(Photo abouve: Tonya & Mike Cornett with Dan Becraft | by David Clewett)
When Mark Cornett first opened The Mountain Jug (located off of Century Drive in the Sunriver Business Park) three years ago he envisioned it as a retail shop where he would sell beer and growler fills to go. Over the years the shop has evolved into a local gathering for the Sunriver community to sample many of Central Oregon’s best beers.
“We provide a place for the community to gather. A lot of people live out in the country and this is where they come for social interaction and to meet people,” Mark said. “There is no TV to distract people. This is a place for people to know their neighbors. It is not a bar. More like a coffee shop that serves beer,” Mark said.
Mark and Tonya Cornett have been immersed in the craft beer culture for nearly 20 years. The shop has 12 rotating taps from local breweries and over 2,000 vinyl records to reminisce about. The Mountain Jug is located across the street from Sunriver making it ideal for a quick growler fill before heading to the mountains.
“The Mountain Jug is unique because all the taps are local and all rotating. I’ve had over 170 local beers on tap since opening,” Mark said. “It is more about variety than selling a certain beer.”
Mark was in the construction industry for many years before Tonya convinced him to enter the craft beer industry. Tonya’s career path along with the couple’s passion for beer education influenced the decision. Tonya attended the World Brewing Academy in Germany and then was hired as the brewmaster of Bend Brewing Company in 2002. She recently transitioned to the research and development brewmaster for 10 Barrel Brewing Company.
“It is mostly about educating people on beer. Beer knowledge is important to us and we like to share that information with our customers,” Tonya said.
For the first two years Mark ran day-to-day operations while Tonya helped with the business side of the operation and setup by building the taps and cooler. Mark’s construction experience allowed him to build nearly everything inside the shop.
The Mountain Jug deliberately keeps operations simple by not serving food and carrying specific product.
“I just want to sell good beer. That is the focus.” Mark said.
Although they do not serve food they do welcome customers to bring their own food inside.
“Some people will bring in chips and salsa or a cheese plate and spread it across an empty table to share with everyone,” Tonya said.
The Cornett’s have relationships with many local breweries which makes The Mountain Jug an ambassador for the Bend beer scene. Sunriver was recently named a top six national beer resort by Craftbeer.com making it the perfect location.
The Mountain Jug has a log structure with exposed pine interior walls decorated with work by local artists and photographers like Mike Putnam. Karen Eland is a local artist who is featured at The Workhouse in Bend and one of her beer paintings that depicts Tonya is displayed inside the shop. Eland used the beer Tonya brewed to paint to portrait.
“We are selling our friends beer and art. When they come out with something great we want to share it with everyone” Tonya.
Customers who stay and enjoy the ambiance are welcome to sift through the vintage vinyl collection which has mostly been donated by locals who want a place where they can go to enjoy good music and conversation.
The Mountain Jug is open Tuesday – Sunday from 11am – 7pm and has plans to build an outdoor beer garden with a few outdoor tables for customers to enjoy this summer.
541-390-0214
www.mountainjug.com
